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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 25455103, member: 101855&quot;]A couple of months ago, I acquired an example of the 1801 Thomas Jefferson Inaugural medal in silver. It’s not perfect, but after kicking myself for passing one a decade ago, it’s the best I’m going to do. This piece celebrated the inauguration of Jefferson as the third president of The United States and the 25th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence which Jefferson wrote.</p><p><br /></p><p>The dies for this piece were by John Reich. Reich came to the United States as an indentured servant. Some mint officials paid off his indenture and hired him to make this medal in celebration of Jefferson’s win in the presidential election.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am amazed by the quality of Reich’s work. You must remember than the U.S. Mint was still a fairly primitive operation, but Reich, and those who worked with him, were able to make this piece is fairly high relief.</p><p><br /></p><p>Reich was a talented artist, who deserved a spot on the mint’s staff. It took him eight years to get there, and once there, he never got a raise or a promotion.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1629197[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This second piece is an American classic, the Libertas Americana Medal. This piece was conceived, funded and distributed by Benjamin Franklin. The master, Augustin Depre, made that dies. This piece commemorated the American and French victory over the British in the American Revolution. It was the inspiration for the Liberty Cap cents and half cents.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think that Reich’s work compares favorably with Depre’s. What do you think?</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1629198[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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